I own a Protege5 and excessive road noise is my #1 complaint with the car. Pretty curious about the new Mazda3 in this regard...what do new owners think? I drove the Mazda6 last fall and deemed the noise "acceptable", though it certainly wasn't quiet. Any feedback?
So How's The Road Noise?
- Thread starter ijbrekke
- Start date
I drove a previous model year mazda3 for a few days as a loaner. The road noise was quite noticeable. I recently purchased a 2014 mazda 3 and I am quite impressed with how quiet it is for a compact car.
I really only notice the whine when I hot the gas.
A lot of this is also where you are coming from. I have always driven compact cars so some road noise I am use to.
I really only notice the whine when I hot the gas.
A lot of this is also where you are coming from. I have always driven compact cars so some road noise I am use to.
My previous car was a 2009 pontiac vibe gt hatchback and it felt like I was driving a tin can in comparison. When I first test drove the 2014 3, I immediately noticed how quiet it was after you close the door and on the road it's a lot quieter than my previous car too. In comparison to the 2nd gen, I had for a rental few years back, the new 3 is definitely quieter. However, the stock tires do create a lot of noise. I've already replaced them with a set of Michelin's and that made the car a whole lot quieter too. Road noise is down but now I can hear the wind noise more when driving on the freeway lol
There is only appreciable noise when the car is accelerating. At cruising speed it is really quite quiet. And, in general it does a good job of sealing out the outside din. In fact, when I honk the horn it actually sounds kind of muted.
The horn is pretty weak, but not toyota corolla "meep meep" weak. That meep meep was just embarrassing lol at least the mazda one sounds deeper. I think the stock horn sounds fine for this car. It did sound out of breath once when I was honking it for a while lol
It's not as bank vault like as my 2012 Focus Titanium hatchback was, but I personally like a little more intrusion from the outside world in my cars, and noise deadening material is HEAVY. I think my 2014 Mazda3s GT hatchback is just about perfect for a daily driver.
Was your focus really that quiet? I've always read how quiet the focus was but a month or so back when I had a 2012 focus hatch rental, it wasn't that much quieter than the mazda3. Then again, I did replace the tires on my mazda3 so it's pretty quiet on the road so maybe the focus has quieter stock tires than the mazda3? I heard just as much wind noise in the focus as with the mazda3.
It was considerably more isolated and quiet than my new Mazda3, and I would rank it (as have the magazines) as one of the best in the class in that regard. I also wonder if the different versions may have different levels of noise insulation. I had the nearly fully loaded Titanium, and the Michelin PS3 tires, which may be quieter than others (or not, I don't know).
I do own an MX5 and ride a bike. So my new Mazda 3s GT seems to be really quiet in comparison. Road noise is way less than the Speed6 I used to own.
When I hit the gas! I can hear the engine! but I actually kind of like that. My veloster turbo was so muted that didn't feel sporty at all.
When I hit the gas! I can hear the engine! but I actually kind of like that. My veloster turbo was so muted that didn't feel sporty at all.
Road noise in mine is great, it's much quieter than I expected. I hardly ever have to turn up the radio while driving or do something to make talking on the phone passable.
I should qualify I'm coming from a 12-year old car, which had horrible wheel-well road noise to begin with and had a cat-back exhaust and WAI. In that car if you wanted to play the radio on the freeway it meant going partially deaf after a long trip.
I should qualify I'm coming from a 12-year old car, which had horrible wheel-well road noise to begin with and had a cat-back exhaust and WAI. In that car if you wanted to play the radio on the freeway it meant going partially deaf after a long trip.
rustychops41
Member
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- 2007 Mazda 3s HB
Tire choice plays a HUGE role in how quiet a car is, along with how worn they are.
